NEW ROCHELLE, NY — In a move that will be a major step forward in bringing about a school leadership team that better reflects the student population of its schools, the New Rochelle Board of Education has hired Milagros “Millie” Bonilla as Clerk and Secretary to the New Rochelle Board of Education. Bonilla speaks English and Spanish.
Bonilla was sworn in this week,
Before coming to New Rochelle, Bonilla served as Pelham Public Schools’ District Clerk and Secretary to the Superintendent for two years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Hofstra University.
“This was a good opportunity to work in a larger district and I appreciate the diversity in New Rochelle,” Bonilla said.
Bonilla replaces Lisdalia Saraiva, who retired in the wake of a disastrously run school election in June, interfering in board elections in July and a secret 2019 audit report seen by Talk of the Sound which found she made thousands of dollars in unauthorized budget transfers to pay off large international voice and data charges run up by former Board President Jeffrey Hastie while traveling in Europe and Africa on personal business.
Bonilla is responsible for maintaining records, preparing resolutions for the Board of Education meetings and serving as the liaison between the Board and the public.
Bonilla was also appointed the Records Access Officer for the City School District of New Rochelle. The records access officer is responsible for insuring appropriate agency response to public requests for access to records, according to the New York State Committe on Open Government.
A major responsibility of the Clerk is overseeing and coordinating the annual budget vote and school board election for the District.
“Ms. Bonilla possesses all the qualities we were looking for in a Clerk,” said Board of Education President Rachel Relkin. “The clerk is the person behind the scenes making sure everything runs correctly. Ms. Bonilla has the experience and the understanding of how a District runs that we need. We are confident that she will fit right in.”
